This isn't a date
by Landon Richardson
Summary: It wasn't a date… really… it was just two colleagues going out for a meal together… that was all… (Part Three of the Medical examiner, McDanni (Featuring female OC Danni), One shot)


This isn't a date

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

**Please note that the characters of Steve McGarrett, John McGarrett, Max Bergman and Governor Patricia Jameson do not belong to me in any shape of form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.**

**The character of Danielle 'Danni' Richardson, David Richardson, Elizabeth 'Libby' Richardson and Abigail 'Abbie' Fitzgerald however do belong to me so please do not use them without first asking and obtaining permission.**

**Any other character who might pop up who you don't instantly recognise the name of probably belongs to me as well**

**Thank you**

Author Note

**Welcome to 'This isn't a date', part Three of the Medical Examiner Saga**

**This story is set around about season one and is to be read after 'First Meeting' and 'He will have to wait'**

**I would like to apologise for the lack of updates at the moment, life has been really crazy at the moment and my muse hasn't been playing ball though it appears he has finally come out of hibernation. I will be aiming to finish all the stories I have pending and even have new stories which are ready to go as well so please bear with me.**

**Please note as well that the restaurant Steve and Danielle go to is a real place in Hawaii that I found via google but I've never been there myself.**

**Anyway, please enjoy part one.**

Story Summary

**It wasn't a date… really… it was just two colleagues going out for a meal together… that was all… (Part Three of the Medical examiner, McDanni (Featuring female OC Danni), One shot)**

Romantic pairings

**Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danielle Richardson (McDanni)**

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Part Three of the Medical Examiner Saga

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Danielle Richardson breathed out slowly, trying to ignore the growing feeling of exhaustion which she could feel pulling at her body and mind, a feeling which she knew from experience would only worsen until she found the time to get some much-needed rest.

The only problem with that was the fact that she also knew from experience that it was unlikely that she was going to get any rest any time soon, regardless of how much she was longing for it.

She looked around the morgue, taking in everything that was happening around her in one thoughtful sweep. It was a relief to see that every one of the Medical Examiners who were on the same shift pattern as herself were seemingly at the end stages of their own autopsies. They had been working for at least five hours straight, barely finding the time to take their mandatory breaks though lunch had been managed by most of them. Danielle was under no illusion though that the only reason they had taken lunch was because she had gone around to each of them individually and forced them to take it.

The bodies which had arrived from the second pile up had been more than then the forecasted four which they had expected and it had taken a toll on them all, taking a hit at the team morale in a way which concerned Danielle.

She knew she would have to find a way to raise the morale again but at that one moment in time all she could think about was finishing up and heading home, grabbing something simple to eat on her way back to hers so she wouldn't have to bother about cooking before she collapsed into her bed for some well-deserved sleep.

The next day was due to be her scheduled one day off for the week but she already knew that she would have to come into work regardless of that fact. She couldn't leave her team in the lurch when she knew they were understaffed with a backlog which would only worsen if they didn't find a way to get on top of it as soon as they could.

"Hey guys" She suddenly said as she straightened up, rubbing absently at the twinge in her lower back as she waited for the others to stop what they were doing and to look at her. "I just want to let you know that I'm really proud of you all for coming together so well today and for the work you've managed to get done already. I think we can all guess already that the rest of the week will be difficult, especially with Max and Tabby being out, but I've got no doubt that we'll be able to get through it together, the same way that we always do. Once you've finished with the autopsy that you're working then I want you all to head home and get some rest. We can do the reports for them tomorrow, if you're off tomorrow then make sure you enjoy it, if you're on shift then I'll see you tomorrow as I'll be coming in to lend a hand." She explained with a smile at them, waiting until they nodded at her, noticing that each and everyone of them had a look of relief on their faces.

Sighing silently, she turned her attention back the body lying on her slab and began the process of sowing it back up.

She was aware of the others doing the same thing, the familiar sound of soft murmured conversation and metal on metal washing over her, getting lost in her own thoughts about how they would manage the next day and making a mental note to contact the Governor's Personal Assistant to see whether she could arrange a meeting with the older woman. The only way they would get on top of things, would be to hire new people to increase their numbers and to do that, Danielle would first need the permission of the Governor.

She finished up her stitching, breathing out slowly as she twisted to the side and placed her equipment back on her tray before she took off the adhesive gloves she had been wearing and threw them in the direction of the nearby bin, a reluctant smile coming to her face when they hit the target and went in.

"That was a nice shot."

Danielle blinked at the amused, unfamiliar voice, looking back around, her eyes widening when she realised that Steve McGarrett, head of the Governor's taskforce, was standing on the other side of the metal slab from her.

"Commander McGarrett?" She stated, unable to keep her surprise from her voice, something he clearly picked up on if the slight smile which curved his mouth was any indication for her to go by, She looked around her, shocked to see that she was one of the only people left from the day shift in the morgue making her wonder how long she had been lost in her own thoughts. Clearly, it had been long enough for the night shift to start arriving.

"Evening Danni" He replied as he crossed his arms over his chest, meeting her eyes when she looked back at him with an intent expression which she felt all the way down to her toes.

"I didn't expect to see you today, giving what time it is? I thought that Five-O tended to finish before now?" She asked him, looking towards the clock on the wall and frowning slightly when she saw that it was already nearly eight at night. She shook her head and headed over to the nearest sink, giving her hands a good clean with the soap before she dried them on the nearby hand towel and turned back to Steve, waiting for him to answer her.

"We have finished for the day but I stopped by on the off chance that you wee still here so I could talk to you about the victim in my case, the one who is currently still pending an autopsy?" He remarked, his comment causing her to sigh, knowing that her chances of getting home early were slipping away. She ignored him for a moment as she turned to one of the junior Medical Examiners over to her and asked him politely to place the body, she had been working on back into the correct storage unit, waiting until he nodded before she looked back at Steve. She noticed the glimmer of annoyance in his gaze and made a mental note of it, clearly the Commander wasn't used to being ignored by anyone, not even for a short time.

"Somehow I knew that you were going to say that, let's discuss this in my office." She told him, giving him a long, considering look before she moved away from the slab and headed over to her office, entering the medium sized room and took a seat behind the desk She was aware of Steve following her in and closing the door behind him but ignored it for a moment, focusing her attention on powering her computer up and bringing up the necessary spreadsheet which she knew she would need for this conversation. "Take a seat" She offered, waving a hand towards the one opposite it.

"Thanks" Steve responded, moving over to her and sitting, stretching his long legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankle.

Danielle scanned the spreadsheet for a second before she spoke in a professional tone.

"I believe that Kono said that your victim's name was Lieutenant Yosuke Tatsumi, right?" She asked him, glancing up with a questioning look before looking back down when he nodded at her. "Okay, well it appears that he is third in line which means that barring anything horrific happening today then the autopsy should be allocated and completed by a member of the night shift. The initial report should be sent to your team within the week, if you need answers before then, then I would suggest you speak to the Medical Examiner who completes it directly, they'll be here until eight AM so its best if you come in before then." She stated.

"I was hoping that you would be the one who would perform the autopsy on him." Steve said as he leaned back against the chair, his eyes narrowing slightly when she shook her head.

"You might hope that but I'm afraid on this occasion it's just a hope, like I have just explained to you, the autopsy will be completed by someone on the night shift and I am working on the day shift for the next two weeks." She told him with a shrug. "Please rest assured though, like I explained to Kono earlier, that everyone who works in this office is fully qualified and has been handpicked by myself to work here. We all had the same training so they should be able to easily deal with it. My second in Command Doctor FitzGerald is in charge of the night shift so if you have any further questions about it then I would suggest speaking to her, she should be able to tell you who is likely to get the case. My involvement in allocating the cases ended ten minutes ago when my shift ended. That's the way the system works and it's the way it will remain because it works best for us. I am sorry though if you're unhappy with the way it works though."

"I never said that I was unhappy with the system which you have established here Danni." Steve responded, his eyes focused on her with the same intent look as before, a slight frown furrowing his brow. She stared back for a moment before she glanced down at the piece of paper left on her desk with a list of names of the new cases which came in, taking a moment to quickly add them onto the bottom of the list. She breathed out when she saw the number of names on the list which were still unallocated, the second pileup from earlier that day had managed to eradicate most of their hard work that day. "You look as though you have a lot on your mind? Anything I can do to help?"

Danielle blinked, looking back up in surprise when Steve had spoken, she had expected him to leave straight away.

"Doesn't everyone always have at least something on their mind?" She countered lightly before she shook her head. "I don't think you can help though I appreciate you asking." He watched her for a second with a thoughtful look before he shrugged.

"I can't deny your wisdom there" He admitted, "Kono mentioned earlier on how busy you seemed, did you manage to get something to eat?" He asked her.

"Have I eaten anything?" She repeated, taken aback by the sudden chance in topic. She thought about the day she had and slowly shook her head. "Actually, now that I think about it, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast this morning. It's been too busy here to stop even for a moment." She confessed as she saved the spreadsheet and closed it down.

"I know that feeling, I didn't manage to eat anything either. I was planning on stopping off somewhere before I head home to eat rather than cooking. Nothing fancy or expensive but do you fancy coming with me and grabbing something to eat since you haven't eaten either." He queried in a casual tone.

"You want to get something to eat together?" Danielle said, her eyes widening slightly before she looked away, taking a moment to straighten the files on her desk in order to give her a chance to gather her thoughts together again. "I guess I could get something to eat, I had been planning on grabbing something on my way home anyway."

"Great, have you got any preferences about the type of food which you fancy having?" He asked her with a wide grin which she couldn't help responding to.

"Just to make it clear though, this dinner isn't a date between us, you know, that right?" She warned him as she came to her feet, leaning down and picking up her bag which she had been storing beneath the desk and placing it on the surface. "It's just two work colleagues who are going out to have some sushi together because they are both hungry." She stated, wondering even as she said it whether she was trying to convince him of that fact or herself.

"So, we're going to sushi then, that's always a good choice." Steve replied with a nod, a thoughtful look on his face. "I happen to know an amazing place that we can go to which is near to here. I've got my truck with me so I can drive us there."

"While I appreciate the offer of you being my chauffeur for the evening, I do have my car in the parking lot," She pointed out.

"It will be easy enough for me to drive you back here once we've eaten so you can pick it up. If you're too tired for that then I can drive you back to yours and pick you up on my way into the office tomorrow and drop you off here. That way you won't have to worry about it." Steve offered as he stood up.

"Or" Danielle said, unable to her amusement hidden. "You could simply tell me the name of the restaurant you have in mind and I can drive myself there which would eliminate you having to go out of your way to bring me back here or take me home." She countered, a smile coming to her face when she caught sight of the brief flash of disappointment which crossed his features at her words. The sight of it reminding her with a vengeance about what Kono had said earlier about Steve liking her. A thought which left her equally excited and concerned in equal measure.

"That is also something you can do" He agreed almost reluctantly. "The place I'm thinking of is a called Doraku, have you heard of it before?" He asked her, smiling when she nodded at him.

"Definitely, you've clearly got great taste when it comes to Sushi Steve, I've been there a couple of times and the food has always been amazing. It might be hard for us to get a table at this time without having a reservation though." She pointed out as she shouldered her bag and adjusted it so that it was comfortable.

"Normally I would agree with you but the owner of the place owes me a favour so we should be good to go on this non date with each other." He told her seriously, a tone which was countered by the warm amused look in his eyes as he watched her.

"That is good to know then, let's head off shall we because the sooner that we eat, the sooner I can collapse into bed and get some sleep." She commented as she moved around the desk and towards the door, smiling up at him as he held the door open for her. She entered the main morgue and looked around her, heading over to where Abbie FitzGerald stood and gave her some last-minute instructions before she left the room with a thankful smile, aware of Steve falling into step at her side.

She had expected him to try and make conversation with her but he seemed content to simply remain quiet, something which she appreciated. They left the building together and walked to the bottom of the steps before coming to a stop.

"I'll meet you at the restaurant then" Steve told her briefly with another smile before he turned and headed over to a dark blue tuck which was parked in one of the spaces nearby. For a moment Danielle watched him before she shook her head and turned, heading over to her own car. She unlocked it and climbed into the driver's side, absently closing the door behind her. She placed the key into the ignition but didn't turn it, instead taking the moment of solitude, her first since that morning, to gather her thoughts together and question what exactly she was doing by going to dinner with the head of the Five-O taskforce.

She had always had a strict, self-imposed policy to never socialise with people who she worked with but who wasn't in the Medical examiner Office so that she could never be accused by anyone of favouritism towards one person or an unit and yet, despite having constantly said no to every other invitation she had received in the past, she had for some reason said yes to Steve with no fight at all.

The only explanation which she could come up with to explain her behaviour was that she was more exhausted then she thought and it had affected her mind, making her make questionable decisions. Pushing the thought away as one to examine later, she turned the key in the ignition and reversed out of her space, both relieved and disappointed that Steve hadn't waited for her.

Shaking her head, she switched on the air con and the radio and left the car park for the morgue, taking the road to the right, which she knew from experience would take her to where she needed to go.

It wasn't long until she was pulling into the car park of Doraku and into the first available parking space, her eyes automatically landing on Steve's truck as she climbed out of her car, stepping to one side and closing the door behind her, making sure to lock it as well. Running her hand down her skirt she moved towards the entrance and stepped in, looking around her curiously.

"Hey Danni, over here."

Danielle glanced over to the side of her, smiling when she saw Steve standing at the front of the small queue, beside a tall man who had turned to watch her as well with a curious look.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm slightly late, I got caught behind a slow driver." She explained as she joined him.

"No problem" Steve replied with a warm smile before he turned his attention back to the tall man as he spoke.

"If you would like to follow me." He instructed them as he picked up two menus and headed through the crowded area and leading them to a small table for two at the back of the room. "Here you go, just like you asked for Commander, if there is anything further, I can do for you both then please let me know. Your server tonight will be Thomas, he'll be over shortly to take your order." He explained to them with a nod, placing the menus on the table before he left them to get themselves settled.

"It's busy here tonight, it's a good thing that you had a favour to pull in because otherwise I don't think we would have got a table," Danielle remarked as she lowered herself into one of the chairs, placing her bag beside her before she reached out and took on of the menus from the table surface and opened it, her eyes scanning through the listed selection.

"Yeah, it turns out that if you find the person who beat the owner's nephew then they tend to be pretty grateful to you." Steve commented absently as he looked at his own menu on a considering fashion before he spoke, his eyes flickering up. "What are you thinking about eating tonight? Has anything in the menu caught your eye yet?"

"I'm thinking of getting the laughing Bruddah Roll to eat, I've had it before and it was really nice." She replied after a moment of consideration. "What about you? What are you thinking of having?"

"The Chirashi Don Donburi" He told her, looking up and smiling at her. Within moments of them placing their menus on the table, a waiter appeared beside them, efficiently taking their order before disappearing and leaving them alone together. A silence had fallen which should have felt awkward but instead Danielle found it surprisingly relaxing and comforting, a fact which surprised her. "So, you've been officially back as Chief Medical Examiner for two weeks, now right?" Steve asked her, breaking the silence, he continued when she nodded at him. "How are you finding being back there? Is it different to how you remember it to be?"

"You would think it would be but it's not, it honestly feels as though I've never been away from there. I thought that I might need an adjustment period to get back into the proper groove for it but there was no need which is probably down to Max; I mean Doctor Bergman for running the office in the way I wanted while I was away." She remarked, smiling at the waiter when he reappeared with their drinks which he placed in front of them. She picked up her glass and took a long sip of the cool lemonade, her eyes coming back up to Steve when he spoke.

"Max tended to work in a smaller morgue then the large one." Steve commented thoughtfully.

"Yeah, the Chief Medical Examiner has their own personal morgue available for them to use, the same as I have an office but I prefer being out in the thick of things, it makes it easier to see what is going on with my team and for them to easily approach me with questions they might need to ask." She replied.

"That makes sense, my team mainly seemed to work with Max, he's… quite the interesting character, isn't he?" Steve said, hesitating for a moment over his wording, his remark causing her to laugh as she placed her glass back on the table surface.

"Interesting is certainly one word which can be used to describe him well, he's amazing at his job though so I'm happy to overlook some of this more eccentric behaviour and mannerisms." She admitted with a shrug.

"Are you glad to be back in Oahu or are you missing the Big Island?" Steve queried as he leaned back on the chair, his eyes briefly skirting the surroundings as though he was scanning for any threats to them before he focused back on her.

"I'm glad to be back in Oahu, I missed being over here though obviously the Big Island was beautiful as well. It was an awkward situation; we had just settled into our new home here and then we had to move to the Big Island for seven months which meant having to start again for a second time within a short time period. It was a lot to have to deal with for us both."

"Kono mentioned that you live with your twin brother and your niece at the moment? I'm assuming that who you meant when you referred to, we?" He asked her casually.

"Yeah Kono is right, my twin brother is actually the reason why I'm out here in Hawaii after all. I mean Hawaii is absolutely beautiful but it's also absolutely expensive to live out here so when we made the decision that we were going to move here, we decided that it would make sense in the long run to pool our resources together and get a good-sized house to share rather than a tiny place each. It also makes it easier for me to help him out with Libby since I'm normally there when I'm not at work and can help him take care of her."

"I'm guessing that Libby is the name of your niece?" He queried as he picked up his own drink.

"That's right, she's called Elizabeth but we tend to call her Libby, she's only twenty-two months old so she's still a baby, she's amazing though, so smart and sweet-natured already." Danielle said brightly.

"She sounds extremely cute, clearly you and your twin are doing a good job raising her." Steve said, falling silent when the waiter reappeared and placed their food in front of them, asking briefly if he could get them anything else before he disappeared once more.

"Well we're trying" She said with a laugh as she picked up her chopsticks and gave her meal a completive look before she spoke again. "We've spoken about me but what about you? How does someone go from being an active Navy SEAL in service to becoming the head of the Governor of Hawaii's personal taskforce?"

"It sounds to me like you might have been doing some research on me Danni." Steve commented, sounding almost smug for a second as his mouth curled up into a smirk as he used his own chopsticks to pick up some of his Sashimi and placed it into his mouth.

"Well not really, Kono happened to mention it in passing to me the other week and it stuck in my head that's all." She said, ignoring the rush of heat she felt on her cheeks. "You didn't answer my question, how did you end up here?" She pointed out softly.

For a moment she thought that he wouldn't answer her, especially when his expression seemed to harden before he sighed.

"I came back to Hawaii to hunt down the man who tortured and murdered my father in his home." He told her lowly.

"Steve, are you… are you the son of John McGarrett?" She asked him, her eyes widening when he gave her a single nod in response. "Oh my God, Steve, I'm so sorry for your loss, I should have realised from your surname."

"Did you know who my Dad was?" Steve commented after a moment of silence.

"I didn't know him personally but due to the nature of the case I was briefed about it and kept in the loop over it." She explained, unable to resist the urge to reach across the table and place her hand over his, squeezing down on it in an attempt to provide him with some comfort. "I can't imagine how hard the whole situation must have been on you. I'm so sorry." She repeated again.

For a moment Steve stared down at her hand on his before he twisted his hand around in her hold so he could interlock their fingers together, resting their joined hands on the table surface.

"Thank you, Danni," He said quietly. "When I came back to the island it seemed like it was the right thing to do to stay. I feel like it's what my father would have wanted me to do."

Danielle nodded before she took her hand back, clearing his throat before she focused back on her meal.

"I'm sure that he would have been proud of you no matter what you had chosen to do Steve." She assured him, giving him a questioning look when he snorted in response to her comment.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Danni." He replied before clearly changing the subject. "How is the food?"

Danielle blinked, glancing at her half-eaten food before she looked at him.

"Its really good but really filling as well. I think I may end up having to bring some of it home with me in a doggy bag. I'm sure that my twin will demolish it." She remarked with a soft laugh. "How about yours? Is it as good as it looks?"

"It's really good." He told her. "You know I'm glad that we've done this, perhaps we could do this again, though obviously it would be a non-date."

Danielle considered his comment for a moment before she slowly nodded, a smile coming to her face.

"I think that we could arrange that to happen." She said.

"You best eat up or get the meal boxed up because the desserts here are amazing as well." Steve stated with a wide grin at her.

"Having a dessert after the day I've just had is certainly needed." She stated as she took another sip of her lemonade, ignoring the slight sense of excitement in the pit of her stomach at the thought of spending more time with Steve.

What would be the worst that could happen if she spent more time with him after all."

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Author Note

**Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it. **

**I really appreciate it**


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